University of Iowa Department of Internal Medicine

SHM Poster Session and 2018 Chapter Meeting

For the third year since aligning with the Progress conference, the Iowa Chapter of the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) has produced a poster session over one lunch hour of the two-day event. Each of the four Internal Medicine residency programs in the state responded to the call for abstracts. This year’s session saw an increase to 30 presented over last year’s twenty.

A variety of work was on display from undergraduates, residents, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists. Embolisms, peritonitis, tachycardias, new care models, process improvements, yolk sac tumors, neuroendocrine tumors were just some of the details involved in this broad swath of presentations.

Judges and other guests moved from board to board after helping themselves to a buffet lunch provided by SHM. After a little less than an hour, the judges submitted their scorecards for the final tally. Howard Epstein, MD, member of the SHM Board of Directors, presented the awards.

Mr. Kidder, a fourth-year medical student in the Carver College of Medicine, receives guaranteed poster acceptance at the 2019 National SHM meeting in March in National Harbor, Maryland, and $500 toward registration and travel expenses.

(Part Two of this post continues below this slideshow.)

And then it was back to close out Day One at Progress. Some attendees immediately followed that by attending the ACP Chaptermeeting, while others got a break before reconvening at a downtown restaurant for the SHM Chapter meeting. Members had a brief social hour and some appetizers before being seated for dinner.

Once seated, Dr. Epstein addressed the guests and thanked them for their commitment to a relatively new but increasingly critical subspecialty of medicine. He discussed efforts being made at the national level to further expand SHM’s ability to effect change in positive directions for health care. He also praised outgoing chapter president Dr. Melinda Johnson for her efforts to expand SHM’s state-wide exposure, including the chapter’s involvement with Progress.

Incoming president Dianna Edwards, MD, then presented chapter awards with excerpts. We have included excerpts from Dr. Edwards’s remarks about each recipient.

Excellence in Research

Ethan Kuperman, MD

He has led quality improvement initiatives both at the UIHC and the VA, including efforts to reduce length of stay, enhance early discharge of patients on internal medicine floors, and increase geographical localization of patients. He is also the director of Quality Improvement and Patient Safety for the Iowa Chapter of Society of Hospital Medicine.

Excellence in Teaching

Stuart Pitman, PharmD

He has served as an Inpatient Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Internal Medicine at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and as Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy since 2011. He is perhaps most widely known for his daily ward and bedside teaching within a multidisciplinary team. Pharmacist and physician colleagues and learners, APP’s, nurses, and patients speak highly of his interest and skill in teaching.

Excellence in Management in Hospital Medicine

Dena Fisher, BS, Nursing

She has been with the UnityPoint Health St. Luke’s Hospitalist team for the last 12 years. Initially serving the team as a Hospitalist team nurse working side by side with Hospitalist physicians in improving care delivery at the bedside and coordination of transitions of care. She later became the Lead Hospitalist Nurse, and for the past 2 years she has taken on the role as the Clinic Administrator for the Hospitalist Program.

Outstanding Service in Hospital Medicine

Melinda Johnson, MD

She joined the faculty at the University of Iowa in 2000 with both inpatient and outpatient care, but has focused solely on Hospital Medicine since 2008. She has served as mentor, wellness coordinator, and Associate Director for Faculty Engagement for many young hospitalists since then, along with service on many hospital and departmental committees. Dr. Johnson co-founded the Iowa Chapter of the Society of Hospital Medicine in 2013 and served as Vice President/President Elect from 2014-2016, then President from 2016-2018. She has served as appointed a member of the national SHM Chapter Support Committee since 2017 and as SHM District Chair since earlier this year, covering District 9 (ND, SD, IA, MN, WI.)

Clinical Leadership for Physicians

Bradley Manning, MD

He has demonstrated excellence in operations and creative collaborations through his work at as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at UIHC. Dr. Manning goes above and beyond to ensure that the program continues to improve and move forward. He emphasizes providing excellent patient care and fully demonstrates that in his own patient care. He consistently finds ways to enhance teamwork and the quality of life of providers in the group. He prioritizes the importance of life-long learning and the dissemination of clinical knowledge.

Clinical Leadership for Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants

Aimee Foster, ARNP

She serves as APP Co-Lead for UIHC General Medicine Services. She has particularly demonstrated excellence in creative collaborations and operations and consistently demonstrates leadership in clinical care in hospital medicine in a number of different ways. She excels in communication with her physician and APP hospitalist colleagues, along with nurses, social workers, and other members of the multidisciplinary team. She is dedicated to the best possible care of patients. Her emphasis on high standard of care and quality improvement has literally saved lives

Excellence in Teamwork

Jan Copeland and Team Mercy Hospitalist Program

Program Coordinator of the hospitalist program at Mercy Iowa City for last 5 years, Ms. Copeland was promoted to hospital practice manager to oversee not only the adult hospitalist program but also pediatric hospitalist program and emergency department. She is calm, coordinated, approachable and structured. She is also loyal to the concept of hospital medicine and what it stands for: standardization, quality, patient-centered approach, and above all, multidisciplinary collaboration and cooperation.

Congratulations to this year’s award recipients!

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[…] organizations have also organized events to coincide with Progress. The Iowa Chapters of both the Society of Hospital Medicine and the American College of Physicians held their annual meetings concurrently with Progress. These […]